St. Louise bucks Catholic school trend and prospers
Lisa Osterhaus faced a tough decision when her children became old enough to go to school. The product of a Catholic school, Osterhaus wanted her children to be able to go to Mass each week and make their sacraments alongside classmates. However, she was swayed by the technology and strong academics in the Peters Township School District.
"There's a perception that you can provide your child with a Catholic education with the discipline and morals that come with it, or you can send your child to a public school and have state-of-the-art technology with all the bells and whistles," said Osterhaus of Peters. "Why can't you have both?"
Osterhaus found just that combination at St. Louise de Marillac, a Catholic elementary school in Upper St. Clair with 425 students. In a year when several religious schools have announced they will close, St. Louise lowered tuition by $100, renovated classrooms and increased the technology available to students.
Principal Ken Klase credits school parents and parishioners for the decrease in tuition and increase in amenities. During this school year, parents and parishioners raised about $225,000 to help support the school.
"If we didn't have this fundraising, our tuition would go up so high people could not afford to come to this school," Klase said. "Students do so well here because the parents play an active role in their education."
Thanks to parent and parishioner donations, the school has renovated its library, upgraded technological offerings, and renovated the computer lab, art room and classrooms during the past four years. This summer, the school will upgrade its cafeteria and renovate three more classrooms.
"We're on this path now where you can have the best of both worlds," said Osterhaus, president of the School Advisory Council. "Our kids are getting a great faith-based education and still have access to all of these other things as well."
St. Louise enjoys prosperity at a time when other schools in the Diocese of Pittsburgh are struggling financially. Three -- St. Athanasius in West View, Holy Spirit School in Millvale and St. John Neumann in Lawrenceville -- are slated to close at the end of the school year. Two, Holy Rosary in Homewood and St. James in Wilkinsburg, will merge to form a new school. Three others -- St. John of God in McKees Rocks, St. Joseph School in Coraopolis and St. Simon & Jude in Scott -- are reportedly in danger of closing. Thirteen schools have closed in the past five years in the diocese.
"This is the largest number that we've worked on in a long time," said the Rev. Kris Stubna, secretary of education for the diocese. "To hear of a school like St. Louise that is able to lower tuition and attract students is very exciting."
Still, Stubna said 60 percent of schools in the diocese have stable or growing enrollment. The average tuition in the diocese is about $3,000. Next year, parents will pay $3,300 for the first child to attend St. Louise, with discounts given for additional children.
The Rev. Mike Caridi, pastor of St. Louise de Marillac Church, said many of his parishioners are young parents eager to support the school. Nevertheless, Caridi said the school's leaders recognize these are hard times for many. The parish's Angel Fund provides need-based scholarships, and recently, the organizers of St. Louise's weekly bingo decided to donate all profits to the fund.
About 5 percent of St. Louise's students receive financial aid, said Joanne Carmassi, business manager for the parish.
"We want to ease the pressure on parents and send a signal to the broader community that we are making things as simple as we can," Caridi said. "A lot of good things have come together to help us keep this great school."
